In praise of globalisation…

So you were expecting some long libertarian paean to globalisation, eh? Perhaps you thought I was going to use my usual taunt at ‘locavores’ that unlike them, I dislike the idea of poverty and so have nothing against purchasing products from the less wealthy rather than just from tax subsidised first world farmers…

Not this time… because sometimes a picture from inside Festung Samizdata is worth a thousand words.

January 27th, 2013 |

24 comments to In praise of globalisation…

Actually one interesting aspect of globalization here in the US is the way that foreign competition has generated a whole new set of local American products. American beer is better, American Vodka is better, American wine is better, there is even American single malt whiskey that is pretty good.

Not to mention the fact that at Whole Foods there are a variety of American made cheeses that are (in general) as good as any from Europe.

When it comes to generating high quality food & drink nothing beats the free market.

Recently, a set of poorly researched articles on how awful the quinoa trade has been for Bolivia have been making the rounds — most of these are blog posts that quote each other as sources. With each repetition of the game of “telephone”, the story is distorted further. (As it happens, it appears that international sales have lifted a lot of Bolivian farmers out of poverty.)

Seeing these regularly, however, has had the effect of boosting quinoa consumption in our household at least fifty-fold in the last month. What before was something we ate perhaps once every year or two is now making a regular appearance on our table, mostly thanks to the accidental marketing the anti-quinoa forces have brought to bear.

I’d rather die than eat quinoa. In fact, feed me the stuff for two days and I’ll sign a confession for almost anything you like: the Kennedy assassination, Priness Diana’s death, wearing pink underwear, liking Barry Manilow or being a member of this or that terror group. But not that I ate quinoa willingly a second time.

Vodka… and I’m fully aware I may not have had the best of brands in my life, tastes of nothing much at all to me. It appears to be the spirit of choice for alcoholics for that very reason… no taste no smell. So I am a single malt or decent Brandy man myself. If I am going to get pissed, I want to enjoy and savour as I go about it. So flavouring Vodka may even be a boon. I’ll try a flavoured one and let you know.

The pickles look interesting though, I’d give them a go. And Quinoa sounds like a card game ( I say! anyone for a few hands of Quinoa?)

I guess what I’m saying is that I’ll try anything from anywhere and endorse it, as long as it does what it says on tin. That’s the essence of Globalisation, isn’t it?

Vodka is indeed mostly tasteless, that’s why it’s good mixed with stuff (not the same thing as ‘flavored’ – the point is mixing it just before drinking). I haven’t tasted flavored vodka though, so unlike with regards to flavored chocolate, I’ll reserve judgement. It still doesn’t sound good to me though.

I agree with RAB. If I can’t have a good single malt I’ll take a flavorful, full-bodied beer. If you have to mix your alcohol with something else what you mostly taste is the something else. So what’s the point? Just get Everclear 190 and be done with it.

I can take or leave quinoa. Not much flavor, so you have to doctor it up heavily or use it as a filler for something else. Where did it come from anyway? I’d never heard of it before the last year or so, and now it’s everywhere. Who is pushing it on us, and what is his agenda? (Suspicious minds want to know.)

Potato crisps have also got a lot more interesting in recent years. I can remember when there were only about three flavours, and before those, only the one. But those Smith’s Potato flavoured potato crisps, with salt added in a little blue rectangle, twisted into a small bag, were very good.

That is a bit like saying about food “Sauces? Spices? What’s the point?” What is the gastronomic version of a luddite?

Perry has a point there. I now realize that my problem is not with flavoring per se, but with the fact that it is pre-flavored and bottled. In the same way that I like to add the sauce to my pasta myself, or at least to be convinced by the look of it that it was added just a few minutes ago – rather than having been sat in it for a week and then shoved in the microwave.

Who Are We?

The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.